Treasury profit halved for 38 banks in 9 months

Treasury profits of 38 listed banks declined 51.4 per cent or Rs 7,677 crore in the nine months ended December 2004.

In other word, treasury profits or the gains from trading in government papers of these banks declined to Rs 7,256 crore in the nine-month period from Rs 14,933 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Of the 38 banks, 25 showed a decline in treasury profits, ranging between 15 per cent and 96 per cent, 10 banks turned from profit to loss and three banks managed to post a growth in treasury profits.

A quarterly comparison showed that the decline in treasury profits was more severe in the quarter ended December 2004, compared with the previous two quarters.

Treasury profits during the quarter ended December 2004 dipped by 66 per cent to Rs 1,466 crore. In the September quarter the decline was 61.7 per cent at Rs 2,343 crore and in the June quarter at Rs 3,488 crore, a 22.6 per cent dip.

The treasury profit of State Bank of India (SBI) dipped by 43.5 per cent to Rs 1,693 crore from Rs 2,998 crore. In the case of Punjab National Bank, the profit fell by 51.8 per cent from Rs 1,489 crore to Rs 717 crore. Bank of Baroda's profit from treasury operations declined 71.4 per cent to Rs 417 crore from Rs 1,460 crore.

Canara Bank witnessed a drop of 44.8 per cent in treasury profit to Rs 561 crore. Private bank major ICICI Bank's treasury profit fell from Rs 946 crore to Rs 472 crore, down 50.2 per cent. Bank of India saw a 35.4 per cent dip in treasury profit to Rs 567 crore.

Union Bank of India posted a treasury loss of Rs 27.51 crore against a profit of Rs 400 crore, while Bank of Maharashtra reported a loss of Rs 29.43 crore in 2004 against a profit of Rs 356 crore in 2003.

State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur saw a loss of Rs 86 crore compared with a treasury profit of Rs 255 crore. Another SBI associate, State Bank of Indore posted a loss of Rs 45 crore against a treasury profit of Rs 204 crore in last year's corresponding period.

The three banks which bucked the trend were State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Mysore (SBM) and UCO Bank. While the treasury profit of SBT went up by 79.9 per cent to Rs 354 crore, SBM saw a 45.4 per cent rise to Rs 256 crore and UCO Bank a 14 per cent growth at Rs 269 crore.